The fourth lesson I learned on the run is repetition.

In order to run, you need to run. There are no shortcuts to developing lung capacity and endurance. I started by running a half mile and then a little further and then I could run a mile. Soon, I could run three miles. After that, it wasn’t my lungs that wanted to give out or my legs, it was my mind. The battle for the long haul was in my mind.

The same is true in many areas of life. If we want to develop endurance and the ability to hang in there when life gets long and tedious, do the basic things over and over again.

Today as I sat down to journal and talk to God about some troubling thoughts, I was reminded that it doesn’t have to be fancy. It just has to be consistent and repetitive. Stop. Listen. Obey.

I make it so difficult at times.

¹Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. ²But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.

Psalm 1:1-2

There is the secret — coming back to scripture, meditating on Him day and night!